


Finding Your True Self

by PrinceOfClowns



Category: Homestuck, Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-01-12 15:23:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1190133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceOfClowns/pseuds/PrinceOfClowns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So this is a crossover fic between Homestuck and the Mortal Instruments series and an indulgence fic for my two rare pairs. Sorry for the bad summary..</p><p> Dave and Dirk are three years apart in age, Dave 16 and Dirk 19. They both see the creatures, the ones Dirk calls Demons.  They also see the people dressed in black, battling these creatures in crowded streets where nobody seems to see them. But then one of the figures dressed in black, with his odd eyes and lisp, notices them. Dirk knows things that Dave doesn't. He knows what's going on, he knows what these creatures are and who the people in black are. But Dave will find out soon too when they're taken to the nearby institute and trained as Shadow Hunter. Dave learns of his parent, the downworlders, and demons. He finds himself yearning for Sollux and Dirk finds himself entranced by the young Vampire Kankri Vantas and meanwhile, Kankris brother is entranced with a certain warlock, John Egbert.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Learn Something New Everyday...

_Dave_

 

You've always been able to see these...creatures. These large, disgusting, ugly creatures. It's different every time you see them. You have no idea what they are. Sometimes they see you too and they come after you. You always run when that happens, or your brother pulls you away. Ever since you were little you saw them. Even now at age sixteen, you still see them. Your brother sees them too. He doesn't like to talk about it though. He seems more frightened by them than you are. Maybe he knows what they are. You can remember when you were young you used to see them everywhere. You can remember these people dressed in black would come and fight them. You used to stare in wonder at these people. They were so brave, they fought those giant creatures with swords and arrows and other hand held weapons. You would stare until your brother or foster parent pulled you away. Then it died down. You only saw them a few times throughout the years. You thought that maybe they disappeared. You thought maybe you were crazy. But no, bro saw them too. And recently, you've seen them a lot. The same as when you were little. You were never scared of them, even now they fascinate you more than anything. Your brother Dirk is the one who seems scared of them. He refers to them as demons.

 

Dirk's three years older than you, just barely nineteen. He takes care of you since, in his eyes, your still a baby. It annoys you so fucking much. You're sixteen god damn it. Before he turned eighteen you both lived in foster homes. It was a miracle that they didn't split you up. Well actually they did when you were ten. Dirk threw the worlds biggest tantrum about it. In the end they had no choice but to keep you guys together. Even when you were in a foster home he still took care of you, ever since you could remember. Your foster parents weren't always very nice. There were some who would hit you both, Dirk would do his best to protect you. He would get the worst of it. He was always the one who would take care of your cuts and scrapes, comfort you when you had nightmares, give you advice, help you out in school. He did everything for you. You couldn't ask for a better brother.

 

You don't know where your parents are. Dirk says you were only three when they left. You don't remember them but he does, though he doesn't like talking about them. The only thing you know about them is their names. Dean and Dani. Dean, Dani, Dirk, and Dave. It's odd, most people don't choose a system to name their kids by, but your parents did. Four letters, beginning with D. Actually, bro says your full name is David. At least, that's what it say on your birth certificate. It's still a mystery to you why they would name you that but it doesn't really matter anyways you suppose. Nobody ever called you David anyways. You hated it. It was always Dave and you'd like to keep it that way.

 

You sigh quietly, staring up at the ceiling in your room. You had been up for a few hours now but the motivation to actually get up just wasn't there. Usually your brother would mostly leave you alone when you didn't get up but today was obviously not one of those days. Your door opens and you don't have to look to know it was bro. Suddenly there was green smuppet ass launched directly at your face.

 

“Get up dude, we got shit to do today.” You groan and grab the plushie, throwing it back at your brother. He just chuckles and catches it easily.

 

“What do we have to do today?” You sigh and sit up, running a hand through your hair. Your brother flicks your light on and you blink from the sudden brightness. You're red eyes are really sensitive without your sunglasses. Dirk was already wearing his shades, his were like anime glasses though. Pointed up at the edges. Yours were just regular glasses.

 

“Grocery shopping and you have a doctors appointment today.”

 

You groan and throw the blankets off you. Right. The doctors appointment. You hated those things, even though it was just a check up. Dirk grabs the door and turns to leave.

 

“Get dressed and meet me down stairs. I don't feel like waiting all day for you.” And he was gone. You just roll your eyes and drag yourself out of your comfy bed. Wow, mornings were defiantly not your thing. You move sluggishly slow, gathering your clothing and pulling them on before trudging to the bathroom. You do your best to fix your blonde hair before looking at yourself in the full length mirror. Your hair was still kinda messy but you guess it's alright. Your brothers hair is the same color as yours, light blonde. But he almost always spiked it up in the back. Again, an anime reference. At least, that what you thought. But it did look good on him.

 

That's probably why he had people after him left and right, always asking for his number. Though he never gave it out. You feel kind of bad, you know he doesn't get romantically involved with anyone because he's too busy taking care of you. However, he was the best when it came to flirting. He would flirt with people all the time but you knew him well enough that he just did it to keep up an image. He wasn't actually interested in any of the people he flirts with.

 

You had carelessly thrown on a plain red t-shirt and black jeans along with your red sneakers. You grab your shades and slip them on, you would never be seen in public without them. Not with your mutated eye color. Your brothers eyes were a lot easier to pass off as a light hazel color. But if you actually looked at them, it was obvious they were orange. The shades for both of you also serve as a way to look emotionless. Dirk had always looked like that, emotionless and stoic. Like he had no feelings. You know now that he only did that to keep you from what was really going on. He didn't want you to ever see him upset or seem like weak.

 

You obviously had just taken after him like any other child does. And you adopted his stoic expression. Mainly it was because you've always looked up to him. Even if he's only three years older than you. He was always stronger, always better at things. And you always wanted to be that. He was a very secretive person, and in turn, so were you. There was nothing wither of you did better than hide things.

 

That and your sword fighting skills. Dirk had started to learn how to sword fight before you were born. You think dad used to teach him. He taught you too and now considered you a worth while fighting partner. You took great pride in that. You had been interested in sword fighting ever since you saw that guy dressed in black fighting one of those creatures with one. He did it so elegantly, like he was dancing almost, even while grasping a large, heavy looking sword. Your brother was the same way and you tried to copy his movements. But most of the time your movements are tight and jerky, not at all elegant.

 

You figure you've spent enough time staring at your reflection in the mirror so you leave the bathroom and head down stairs where your brother was waiting.

 

“Took you long enough. I though you had fallen back asleep.” He tosses you your sweat shirt and you shrug it on.

 

“Lets just go, I want to get this over with already.” Dirk nods and you follow him out the door and to his car.

 

First it's grocery shopping. You hate doing it but bro makes you come with him. Mostly because if you don't then you'll complain about him not buying the right stuff. After you guys go back home to put all the stuff away and then he drives you to the doctors. You're sixteen and you are able to drive. But you don't have license yet and you're just to lazy to get one. That and bro loves his car and would never in a million years let you drive it and you don't have enough money saved to buy your own.

 

You go to the doctors and get your routine check up. Your 5'8'', 147 pounds, and you get your arm pricked with a needle. How exciting. You can't believe bro pays for these appointments. In your opinion, you should only go to the doctors when there's something wrong. But bro thinks other wise to you have to go.

 

As you walk out of the doctors office, complaining to bro about hating your creepy doctor and his clod hands, you see something out of the corner of your eye. You turn your head and almost freeze where you stand. You hadn't seen one for almost a year.

 

Across the busy street you could see this giant...maggot type creature, just more horrifying. It was white and didn't appear to have any eyes. Their mouth looked full of long spike-like teeth and they had three legs on each side of their body that they were scurry on, like a centipede almost.

 

You must have stopped walking cause your bro turned around.

 

“Dave what are you loo-” He stops mid-sentence and you don't even have to look to know he sees what you do too. You swear you can hear him mutter 'Drevak' but you can't really tell, your eyes are now glued to the person clad in black, standing a top the building this creature was standing in front of.

 

Your brother grabs your arm and tugs on it.

 

“Dave lets go.” You shake your head and pull your arm out of his grip but he just grabs it again, trying to pull you forward.

 

“David now.” His voice was stern and he used your full name, something he only did when he was dead serious or angry. But still you just rip your arm from his grip. He was about to reach for you again but suddenly the figure on the building was falling and you tense up, expecting them to hit the ground hard but instead, they land soundlessly on their feet right behind the creature. Despite the lack of noise the creature seems to sense the person behind it and it quickly reacts, turning and basically lunging at that. You see one small flash of silver and the creature, maggot-thing is gone. But the person is still there. You can tell what the flash of silver is now. It was a small dagger like thing, glowing silver in his hand. However the blade is soon gone, tucked away into whatever pocket or pouch they shoved it into.

 

You look up from their hand to their face and you freeze, seeing them staring right at you. None of the others you had seen had ever looked at you. You can now tell that it's a guy, staring back at you and you don't look away. Your bother had stopped tugging on your arm and you guessed that he was staring too.

 

The guy – he can't be any older then you – narrows his eyes at you and starts walking across the street. Other people didn't seem to see him and they obviously didn't see that “demon”, as your brother says. The guy dodges people who seem to just want to walk right into him, like he was invisible. Soon he makes it across the street, his gaze never leaving you. You hear your brother mutter profanity under his breath and the guy stops in from of you.

 

He was taller than you, probably six feet and his eyes were unusually colored, one red one blue. He was wearing black shoes and pants that looked like skinny jeans but they were obviously not jeans, along with a closely fit black shirt and what looked like a leather jacket. All black head to toe. But what skin you could see, was covered in black shapes, swirls and stuff.

 

He just stares at you for the longest time and you can feel your brother go stiff beside you. Soon he reaches out slowly and just flicks your nose. You pull your head back and make a face.

 

“What the hell was that for??” The guy takes a step back and looks at your brother before flicking his nose too, getting the same reaction out of him. It's a few seconds before he speaks.

 

“How can you see me?” He has an audible lisp in his voice, probably because of his fang like canines that got in the way of his speaking.

 

“What do you mean how can I see you? You're standing right in front of me. How come those people didn't see you? Or that creature thing you just killed?” He raises an eyebrow at you and looks at your brother, you do the same, turning to him. You realize his face is pale but he still had that emotionless expression. The guy steps in front of your brother, despite him obviously being younger, he stood the same height at Dirk.

 

“What are you?” That was a seriosuly odd question. What are you? What is there you guys could be. He looks over Dirk and then you when your brother doesn't respond.

 

“You're not Mundanes...not Warlocks as far as I can tell...not Vampires..you're not reacting to the light...not Faeries...Werwolves? Maybe. Shadow Hunters? ...it's possible. So tell me, what are you?” Dirk sighs and you just stare, completely confused. Warlocks, Vampires, Faeries, Werwolves? What was this some cheesy 1930's horror movie? Come on. And what even were Mundanes and Shadow hunters?

 

“Shadow Hunters.” You brother responds after a second and you furrow your eyebrows.

 

“What the hell is a shadow hunter?” They both ignore you completely and continue staring at each other.

 

“You don't look like a Shadow Hunter.”

 

“We're technically not.”

 

“You haven't drank from the Mortal Cup?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then how can you call yourself a Shadow Hunter?”

 

“My father.”

 

“Your father was one?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Who is he and why haven't you been training at the institute?”

 

“Dean Strider and because I didn't want to.” The guy visibly freezes and looks back and forth from you and your brother before sighing.

 

“I should have known....Come with me.” He turn to walk away, expecting you to follow but your brother shakes his head.

 

“No.” He turns around again and raises an eyebrow.

 

“No? I don't think you understand. I'm not asking i'm telling. You are a shadow hunter with established family members that have drank from the Mortal Cup. You are siblings as far as I can tell, either way you have angels blood in your veins and you are required to appear in from of the head of the Institute. Now i'm not going to ask again. Come with me.” Dirk rolls his eyes and takes a step forward.

 

“Aren't you a little young to be a full Shadow Hunter? You're what? Sixteen?” The guy glares at him.

 

“My age has no importance right now. If you want I can get somebody of age to come and get you. Either way you will come.” He again turns and starts walking, this time your brother follows. You stand confused for another second before catching up with them and looking at your brother.

 

“What's going on?”

 

“I'll explain later.” You sigh and just keep following them. You have so many questions but you know they won't get answered so you stay silent and walk to wherever this person was taking you.  


	2. Learning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes >.

_Dirk_

 

This was never supposed to happen. You vowed to hide Dave. You made a promise to yourself. You promised he would never be involved with the Nephilim. You're dad had started training you from the time you were able to walk. You should have been training at a local Institute but he wanted to do it himself. By the time you turned six a war between the Nephlilim and the Downworlders had broken out. You're not sure exactly why. You thought the Shadowhunters had treaties with the Downworlders but apparently that wasn't enough.

 

Your mother is a downworlder. A werwolf. When the war started your parents couldn't stay together. They were on two different sides of this fight. You weren't old enough then to understand and your brother was too young to remember anything. You think you understand now though. Your parents couldn't take care of you two, not with the war going on. So they hid you as Mundanes. You guys traveled from foster home to foster home all over the state but no matter where you guys went you saw the demons.

 

You had found one of your fathers books when you were ten, wrapped in a shoebox. It was obvious that you were supposed to find it. It was titled _The Shadowhunters Codex._ You read the book over and over again, finding out all you could about everything. The Nephilim, the Downworlders, the Demons, Idris, weapons, the Silent Brothers, the Iron Sisters. Everything.

 

You also know why your dad named your brother David. He named him after David the silent. The first ever Silent Brother. Your brother. He was exactly like your dad. He wasn't scared of the demons he saw. He looked in wonderment at them, like they interested him. Just like your father did. You on the other hand, were more like your mom. Practical and logical, always trying to find a safe way to abscond.

 

It was always too obvious that you two had angels blood coursing through your veins so you tried to stay away from everything. You both have the Sight. You can see past glamours. That's why you could see the Shadowhunter you are now currently following. When you turned eighteen, you got the apartment the farthest away from the institute you could find.

 

You were successful in keeping Dave away but now that was over. Now you had to follow this little lisping prick back to that place. He knew who you were talking about when you said your fathers name. You can tell, but why? Why would he know your father. You don't even know if your father is alive, or your mother.

 

You look over at your brother. He looks so confused. You feel like, in a way, you failed him. You dragged him into a life his didn't deserve. But this is what he was born into. You know you have to talk to the head of the local institute, they have to be aware of all Shadowhunters in the area. Though, they can't force either you or your brother to train and be apart of the Nephilim.

 

It's frowned upon not to but if it's the best thing for your brother than you will do it. But...you have a feeling it wont go like that. Dave...you know that once he finds out who he is and what he's supposed to do..he's gonna want to train. He's going to want to live at the institute with the other Shadowhunters and become what he was born to be. And you can't stop him. But you're also not going to leave him. If he decides to train, so will you. He's your little brother and you're supposed to protect him, you're the only family he has.

 

It doesn't take long until you can see the large building that serves as the Institute. It was huge, could easily hold a hundred Shadowhunters. Though you never see very many of them out, you're guessing that at the most, there's only thirty to forty living there now. Pretty empty. The building was elaborate, something people would expect to see in history. It defiantly didn't fit in with the modern city. But nobody else could see it. It probably looked like an empty lot or some broken down building to the Mundanes.

 

You follow the young Shadowhunter up the steps and through the large doors. Inside is dim, the only light emitting from witchlight stones lining the walls. The ceiling is tall, probably twelve feet, maybe more. Their are old looking paintings on the walls, you recognize one as the Angel Raziel. You look to see Dave looking around in wonderment. Other people may not be able to tell but you know how to read him even when he looks emotionless. He was amazed by the shear elaborateness that the building has. How historic it looked.

 

“Quite gawking and lets go, I don't have all day to escort you people around.” Oh yeah, you had almost forgot that the annoying teenager was still there. You roll your eyes behind your shades but follow him anyways. You have to grab Daves arm and pull him away from one of the paintings that he was staring at.

 

You both continue walking, following the black haired boy down a dim hallway lined with witchlight stones. That seems to be the only light source in this building. You a path of maze like hallways until you reach a set of double door. You follow the young shadowhunter through them and into a large office.

 

At the desk in the middle of the room sat a man, he looked around fifty with gray hair and gray eyes. He looked pretty nice, but you were still cautious as you walked in, making sure Dave was behind you.

 

Though the Shadowhunter obviously knew the man.

 

“Hodge?” The boy speaks his name to get the mans attentions. Well now you know his name is Hodge. He looks up from whatever paper he was reading and gives a kind smile.

 

“Yes Sollux? Can I help you?” His voice is soft but an underlying tone of roughness, like he used to yell a lot. The boy -Sollux apariently- point to you and your brother.

 

“I found these two. I was in the middle of dealing with the Drevak you sent me out for and these two could see me. This one -” He points to you. “- claims they're Shadowhunters. Striders to be exact.”

 

Just like when Sollux heard the name, Hodge freezes, looking between you and your brother then back to Sollux.

 

“Dean Strider?” He asks and Sollux nods. You narrow your eyes. They know your father. DO they know where he is? Hodge stands up behind his desk and gestures to the door.

 

“Thank you Sollux, you've done me great service. But for now, I must talk to these boys. Do not go far, I may require your services later.” Sollux nods and pushes past you to leave the room, closing the doors behind him. Hodge gestures to the two chair set up on the other side of his desk.

 

“Please. Sit. Make yourselves comfortable.” You hesitate and Dave waits for you to move before he follows. You sit in one seat and Dave in the other, you never take your eye off the man as he sits back down and searches through some of his drawers, finally finding what he was looking for after a moment. He reads over the paper in front of him then looks at you, folding his hands together.

 

“You are Dirk, correct? And your brother is Dave?” You nod slightly and he smiles. You glance over at Dave to see his confused expression.

 

“Well boys. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience of being brought here but i'm glad we found you two.” You furrow your eyebrows and speak up for the first time.

 

“You were looking for us?”

 

“Oh well of course we were. Having the offspring of Dean Strider here in the institute with us would be the greatest privilege. However, once the war broke out, there was no trace of you two. We suspected your parents were trying to protect you.” Finally Dave speaks up, obviously sick of being left in the dark.

 

“Okay, somebody explain what the fuck is even happening. Where are we?” You open your mouth to tell him to be quite, that you'll explain later but Hodge stops you.

 

“I will explain. You, David, obviously don't know anything. Looks as if your brother has sheltered you from your origin. Now, where you are is the New York Institute. Is a gathering point for Shadowhunters in the area and where we communicate with the downworlders.” Dave tries to speak again but Hodge holds his hand up.

 

“Let me finish. You want to know everything right? Well it's going to be a long explanation.” He sits back in his cahir before continuing.

 

“Now, Shadowhunters are children of the angel Raziel. People become this by drinking from the Mortal Cup of, as you two are, born from a Shadowhunter. Our job is to fight the demons coming from the Void and into the Mundane world. It is also our job to keep the peace between downworlders consist of Vampires, Warlocks, the Faeries, and Werewolves. You will learn more about each as we go.” Dave looks confused but you guess he believes it, since he can see the demons and all.

 

“Your father, Dean. He was one of your best Shadowhunters. He was an excellent fighter. An expert in Monomachia, Stealth, Agility and Grace, Languages and many more. Dani, your mother, was a Werewolf. Werewolves do not pass on lycanthropy, therefor no, you are not any part werewolf. You are full Shadowhunters. A couple years after David was born a war broke out between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders. That is why your parents most likely hid you two, to keep you safe. Your father was killed a few years ago by an unplanned encounter with a rouge werewolf. We do not know where your mother is at this time, she doesn't belong to any pack.”

 

It was a lot to take in. You knew a lot of the information already, but the stuff about your parents..well it was a lot to comprehend. Hodge stays quiet for a moment while you and your brother try to retain the information before he speaks again.

 

“Usually Shadow hunters start their training at a young age and become full trained at age eighteen. However, in your special case, we will allow you to train. If you so wish to.” You want to say no, to leave this building and never look back. But you can't protect your brother any longer. He knows now and he's old enough to make decisions on his own. If he wants to train...then you will too.

 

“You two can think it over for the night. It would be safer if you stayed here for the night. There has been an increase of demons in the area, especially near where you were found by Sollux.” You hesitate, you don't want to stay here. But..if it's safer.. You don't know how to fucking fight demons, sure you taught yourself and Dave some basic moves of sword fighting but thats nothing near what training you need.

 

“Fine..” You sigh and Hodge smiles.

 

“Great, i'll call Sollux to take you to your rooms.” He turns around in his chair and Dave looks at you.

 

“Why didn't you tell me about this?” You look back at him.

 

“Because Dad didn't want us to know. I was just doing what he wanted. Protecting you.” Dave sighs and slouches in his seat, staring at the ground in thought. You also had some serious thinking to do tonight.

 


	3. The life of a vampire

Karkat Vantas

 

You didn't live at home anymore. Actually, your home wasn't even there anymore. After a few hundred years houses tend to get demolished for room to build new ones. You know both your parents are dead by now. Quite frankly you don't care. They were both werewolves. However, werewolves dont pass lycanthropy to their children. So growing up, you and your older brother Kankri were mundane. Normal humans.

 

Then when your brother was...twenty one? You can't really remember but it was somewhere around there. He was walking to his house after work. HE had worked late so it was late. By then you had both been fully educated on downworlders and demons. But he wasn't prepared when he was attacked by a lone vampire. Kankri didn't like to talk about it but some how he had consumed some of the vampires blood.

 

You remember not hearing from him for months. He didn't call. He wasn't at his house. Your parents searched for him everyday. You thought he was dead. Then one day you heard a tap on your window. When you opened it he was standing there. He didn't really look different. Just maybe a tad paler. Like he was under nourished.

 

You remember him explaining everything to you. If you hadn't been the son of two werewolves you wouldn't have believed him. It was the one and only time he had ever spoken of that night. When your parents found out they disowned him so to speak. The werewolves and vampires dispised each other and your parents would be kicked out of their pack if it got around they had a vampire son.

 

You couldn't just sit around while your brother left. He was your brother. You didn't want him to go. But he had to and your only other choice was to go to. So you followed him. After week of begging he finally agreed to turn you. He was terrified though. He didn't want to do it. But you wanted to be with him and this was the only way.

 

So long story short, now, nearly a hundred years later, you're still alive. Well, undead. A human soul in an animated corpse, kept “alive” by the demon disease. But you still have your brother and that's all that matters. You two still look like you did the day you were turned. Kankri still looked twenty one and you seventeen. Despite that you both were pale and thin, malnourished. You hadn't fed in a few days. You didn't like to.

 

You only lost control of yourself once. That was when you were first turned. But Kankri was there to stop you. From then on you only took enough blood to keep your hunger down. You always left the humans alive. So did Kankri obviously. It was against law not to. If you went around just killing humans the shadowhunters would surly go after your ass. All hell would break loose. Humans aren't stupid, if they see a bunch of bodies laying around with holes in their necks or wrists their gonna put two and two together.

 

Anyways. Now you live with your clan in this old hotel. Like seventeenth century hotel. It's glamored so human can't see it. You don't like being there at night though, too many people. You hate almost all of them. So normally you go out. Just walk around. Mundanes are sleeping so you don't worry about blending in.

 

You and your brother can withstand a certain amount of sunlight, more than normal but after about ten minutes it starts to burn. So you stay inside during the day. The only time you leave is to go with Kankri. He is high up in the counsel. He's important. That's all you really know, you don't like politics. But he drags you along when he has to go talk to other downworlders or the nephilim.

 

But he was just reading now so you decided to go for a walk. It's dark out (obviously) but you can see just as well as a human in the day time. That's how you're able to catch a glimpse of a figure on top of a roof out of the corner of your eye. You quickly turn, looking up to it. It takes you a moment but you can faintly make out an outline of...wings? They were so black they almost blended in with the sky.

 

You can see the figure, he's just standing there. Then he looks at you. You freeze a bit. His whole eye, all of it except for his pupil, was bright blue. Then he's gone. You look around, you can't see him anywhere.

 

Who was that? Then it clicks in your mind. Warlock. Nothing else in this world could have wings and eyes like that. You stand there for a minute, remembering what he looked like. You never saw someone so graceful. And you're a vampire. All vampires are graceful.

 

Soon you break whatever trance you put yourself in and walk back to the hotel. That's enough wondering for tonight. When you get back to your room your brother is in the same exact position he was in when you left. Sitting in his chair, his legs crossed with a book in his lap. You walk in silently but he knows you're there.

 

He looks up as you take a seat next to him. His face is kind, probably why so many people trust him so quickly and why the vampires send him to talk to their allies. “How was your walk Karkat?” You shrug and sink into your seat, the image of the warlock, wings silhouetted against the black sky coming to mind.

 

“You know, the usual.”

 


	4. The life of a warlock

John Egbert

 

It was pretty hard to hide that you were a warlock. You couldn't walk out in public without wearing those itchy, uncomfortable contacts. Sure you could just fold your wings flat across your back and wear a jacket to hide them but your eyes were harder since they were all blue except for the pupil.

 

You didn't really mind though. You liked keeping to yourself anyways. That's why, while most warlocks work closely with the shadowhunters, you don't You'd rather stay out of this demon business and do what you want. However, you were constantly hassled by the nephilim. You were powerful. That much was obvious.

 

Of course being a warlock you were the most powerful out of all the downworlders but you were also one of the most powerful of your kind. At least in the area. You taught yourself from a young age how to perform magic. Most warlocks don't learn until later in their life.

 

And you have a lot of free time so why not practice? So yeah, over a few hundred years (you lost count by now) you've become very powerful. But that doesn't mean you want to help the shadowhunters. Why the hell would you want to do that? They've never done anything for you.

 

So you moved to a pretty hidden house in the mountains. Not a lot of people liked to take the trek up the mountain just to talk to you so you were grateful. You don't like climbing the mountain either but hello. Wings.

 

It was kind of lonely but you did have a friend. Her names Jade. You're pretty close to her. She's a warlock too. With gold splotches, scale like in texture all over her skin. Made her look like she was glowing. It was really pretty to be honest. But you don't talk to her much anymore.

 

So you have to do something to kill your boredom. Like tonight, you just went for a walk. Or..fly. You ended up on a roof top. Just looking down at the city. It was dark and quite, just how you liked it. But then you saw him. The boy standing on the ground, looking up at you.

 

He seemed to freeze when you looked at him. At first you thought he was a human so you left. But then you realized a human wouldn't have been able to see that high in the dark. Shadowhunter? No there was no reason for them to be out. Then you got it. Vampire. What other creature would be out at night? Well besides you.

 

You were just going to go home but curiously got the best of you and you had to find out for sure. So you found him again, walking back the way he came. Oh he was cute. You followed from afar until he walked into the old hotel. Yup. Defiantly a vampire.

 

Satisfied with the answer you had gotten you went back to your house. He looked young. Well who knows how old he really is but when he was turned he must have been in his teens. Poor kid. Sucked into a life like that before truly being able to live life. Oh well, it's not your concern.  


	5. Training

Dave Strider

 

It's been two days since you came to this place and you haven't left. You decided you want to do this. After getting some more explanation from Hodge you decided this was what you were supposed to do. You were born to do this. But your brother had kept you from it before.

 

No one needed to ask, they knew you were angry at him. He knew it too. He let you have your space. But he was starting to get fed up with it you knew. So when he walked into your room without knocking you glared at him.

 

He just glared back. “Look kid. I know your angry. That's fine bu-” You interrupt him “But you don't care.” You stand up. “You never cared what I thought. You never thought that I would want to know about this. You kept everything from be because you didn't care. What if this is what I wanted to do? You kept this...this...huge fucking piece of information from me my whole life! Did you not think I would want to know about dad?! Or mom?! You just decided I didn't need to know??! Who are you to do that?!” By the end you're yelling and you try to keep going but Dirk grabs your shoulders and slams you against the wall, making you wince.

 

“You listen to me you ungrateful brat.” He sneers at you and you stare at him, he's never talked to you like that before. “I did all this to protect you. All of it. So that you didn't have to go through a life of demons. So that you could be normal. I don't give two shits if that's not what you wanted cause this is what mom and dad wanted. And if you want to stay and do this then fine. Do it. But don't you /dare/ yell at me. I was doing what was best for you and I will not sit here and take shit from you.” He lets you go and walks out of the room, leaving you to stare after him.

 

You've never made him that angry before. You feel...kinda bad now... You were about to go find him and apologize but when you open the door you find Sollux standing there, hand in a knocking position. He raises an eyebrow.

 

“Are you ready?” It was your turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Ready for what?” He rolls his eyes.

“Your training dumbass.” Theres that annoying lisp again. That's when you notice he was wearing his gear.

“Uh..I guess so..” You mumble and he grabs your arm, dragging you from your room and down the hall

“Good.” You struggle against his grip and he lets you go and you just walk with him silently. You two end up in a large room with a matted floor. There are large beams up towards the ceiling, what looks like harnesses attached to them.

 

Before you know it he tosses a sword at you. You catch it easily.

 

“I heard you were good with swords so we'll start with that. I want to see how good you can move.” You nod and he grabs another sword, standing across the room from you. You watch him, study the way he stands, the way he moves.

 

Soon he lunges, his sword expertly aimed for your throat but you block it with your own. But your movement was jerky, cause you to stumble a bit. That gave him all he needed. He lifts his foot and kicks you square in the chest, causing you to slam against the wall and before you know it his sword is driven into the wall right next to your head. Fuck.

 

He crosses his arms. “You are good with a sword. I know you are. But your movements are too stiff. Not graceful enough. You'll never get around like that.” You just roll your eyes

 

“You know it's really hard to take you seriously with that lisp.” He glares at you before pulling his sword from the wall. “Fine. Lets go again.” You nod and pick your sword up from the ground where it had fallen and stand up straight.

 

You guys go again and again and again but he always kicks your ass. The last time he ends up siting on your stomach, his sword at your neck and yours half way across the room. Fuck he's good at this. “Are you ready to listen to me pretty boy or do you want to keep going?”

 

You just shove him off of you but even him falling over was graceful. How the fuck does he do it? You stand but you don't retrieve the sword. He gets it and puts his own sword away. He looks back to you.

 

“Do a cartwheel.” You look at him weirdly and he crosses his arms

“What?”

“You heard me. Do a cartwheel.”

 

You sigh and take a step back before doing as he says. When he stand back up straight he looks perplexed.

 

“What?” You snap after him staring at you for a moment.

“You're graceful with that but not with your sword. Here. Do this.” He takes a step back and elegantly flips himself into a handstand, holding himself there, his legs up straight.

 

You don't know if you can do that but you'll try. Once he lands back on his feet you do the same but it's more sloppy than his. You're more off balance and when you land back on your feet you stumble. He sighs

 

“You have no control over your own movements. Do it again.” You do as he says but this time you feel his hands moving your legs, making them straight. After what seems like hours you finally manage to do it gracefully, landing on your feet soundlessly when you come back down.

 

“Good. Fucking finally.” He sighs. “Now” He lifts he leg before you realize whats happening and tries to kick your head but you quickly duck. “Dodge.” You stand back up as he continues to try and hit and kick you but you always avoid them. This goes on for a few minutes before he stops, both of you breathing hard.

 

“See. Graceful. Apply that when you use your sword. When you defend yourself. Be graceful like that.” You hadn't even noticed but when you ducked or spun to avoid him it was graceful. It wasn't jerky or stiff. You just acted you didn't think.

 

When you grab your sword he comes at you again and you block him. You do this for a few minutes before managing to get the upper hand and pinning him against the wall, your sword at his neck.

You two stay like that for a moment, breathing heavily before you pull away. He picks up his sword and takes yours also.

 

“We're done for today. Be here tomorrow at eight.” With that he disappears into the room connected to this one and you go back to the hallway.

 

You manage to find your room again then figure you should probably apologize to your brother so you wonder around some more, looking for him. 


	6. Envy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm so sorry for taking so long to update this thing but here's another chapter!! Hopefully i'll be posting more because i'm getting back into this story. I guess this chapter is sorta boring but it gives a bit of Solluxs background so yeah. Also it's really short...but I should be posting again soon anyways! Tell me what you think!

_Sollux Captor_

 

You have always had a lot to accomplish in life. You have high expectations you want to meet and people you want to prove wrong. Almost everyone had low expectations for you and you have always been determined to prove them wrong. You didn't blame them for thinking the way they did though. They judge you because of your father.

 

You have no knowledge of you mother, you never met her. But your father was a shadowhunter and he was a coward. He was born into this life but he rejected it. He refused to fight and was awful at it when he tried. The man ended up leaving the institute in the middle of the night when no one was awake to notice. Though he returned years later just to leave a newborn baby on the front steps with a note stating who they were.

 

That baby would be you. Hodge told you the story.

 

You don't know why he did it. Maybe to give you a chance to be the fighter he never could be. Maybe because he didn't want you. Either way, you didn't care. You didn't know him anyways. So, you were raised here at the institute. Hodge was basically your caregiver but for the most part you were normally on your own. Except when you were training.

 

Because of who your father is you've always felt the need to compensate for your fathers fuck ups. You want to be everything he wasn't. Which is why you have worked so hard and have reached basic competence with all weapons that are at you disposal as well as reached beginner competence in all areas of study.

 

Though by now you are an expert in Agility and Grace and you are working towards being extremely skilled with a Bow and Arrow. Your lanky body was a plus when it came to grace. You easily mastered gymnastics and acrobatics. You were already graceful in your everyday life, it was all too easy to put it to use when fighting.

 

You were an amazing fighter. You were even allowed to go out on your own sometimes to fight small threats. Like you were today when you found Dave and Dirk.

 

You would be lying if you said you didn't envy them. Their father was one of _the_ most amazing shadowhunters this institute has ever seen. Yours is an embarrassment. Their family name is filled with pride and accomplishment. Yours brings a sour taste to your mouth.

 

You didn't hate either of them though, even if both seemed annoying. You respected them and their family but you had no desire to be near them. No matter how 'amazing' they were.

 

Of course neither of them were at the level of skill that they should be at their ages. But they were still okay. They had a lot to learn though.

 

Hodge had asked you to train Dave and of course you said yes. You never tell him or anyone else no when they ask you to do something. You always felt like you had to prove yourself worthy and this was how you were doing it. So unfortunately you have been stuck with the job of training him. You usually like training people. You normally trained younger kids though, around ten to thirteen. But that was the skill level Dave was at right now and until he reached a level more advanced than you could teach, you would be his trainer.

 

Dave was good with a sword, you had been informed. Swords were not your specialty, Bows and Crossbows were but you were still pretty good with swords. You were good with all the weapons and Dave still needed to learn how to properly handle a sword.

 

You had already noticed his jerky movement and currently you are trying to determine how graceful he really is without a bulky sword in his hand.

 

“Do a cartwheel.” You demand and he gives you a weird look but you just cross your arms and wait for him to do as you say.

 

“What?”

 

“You heard me. Do a cartwheel.”

 

You spent the next thirty minutes helping him with handstands, another five with seeing how well he could dodge, and then another ten actually using the swords. Soon he had you pinned against the wall, his sword at your neck. You're so surprised that you can't even react at first. How could he had already pinned you? He can't be that good.

 

But he is that good and you envy him.

 

You guys stare at each other for a moment while you catch your breath, you're not quite sure why, but he pulls away soon enough anyways. You pull yourself together and take his sword from him.

 

“We're done for today. Be here tomorrow at eight.”

 

You quickly abscond to the connecting room which is where you will put the equipment away and change out of your gear. You hear Dave leave the training room and after a minute you come back to the room, gear still on. You start practicing your skills, specifically your flips and jumps and also a little bit with the swords. You need to get better if you are ever not going to feel inadequate.

 


End file.
